One-time San Diegan among dead in Black Hawk crash

One-time San Diego resident Nicholas S. Johnson, 27, was among four soldiers killed in a Black Hawk crash April 19 in Afghanistan.

/ U.S. Army

One-time San Diego resident Nicholas S. Johnson, 27, was among four soldiers killed in a Black Hawk crash April 19 in Afghanistan.

One-time San Diego resident Nicholas S. Johnson, 27, was among four soldiers killed in a Black Hawk crash April 19 in Afghanistan. (/ U.S. Army)

An American soldier killed last week in a U.S. Army helicopter crash in Afghanistan has been identified as Chief Warrant Officer Nicholas S. Johnson, a one-time San Diego resident.

Johnson, 27, was one of four Americans on board a UH-60 Black Hawk that crashed Thursday in bad weather during an evening flight in Helmand Province. Also killed were Chief Warrant Officer Don Viray, 25, of Waipahu, Hawaii; Spc. Dean Shaffer, 23, of Pekin, Ill., and Spc. Chris Workman, 33, of Boise, Idaho.

Johnson joined the Army in September 2003 and became a pilot in December 2008. He is survived by a wife and one child.

Joni Johnson, Nicholas’ mother, declined to comment after being reached by phone Tuesday at the family’s home in Ontario.

Johnson, who was on his first deployment, has been posthumously awarded a Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, NATO Medal and Combat Action Badge. He had previously been awarded the Navy Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary Medals, Army Service Medal and Aviator Badge.

Johnson was a 2002 graduate of Chino High School in San Bernardino County, said Chino Valley Unified School District Spokeswoman Julie Gobin. Public records show he lived in San Diego County between March 2003 and September 2008.

The helicopter crashed while responding to a suicide attack on a local police checkpoint. Mohammad Qayum Gorbacki, the chief of the Garmsir district in southern Helmand Province, said last week that four Afghan police officers were killed and seven others were wounded in the suicide attack.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, claimed last week that insurgents had shot down the helicopter.

“Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of our fallen heroes,” Maj. Gen. Kurt Fuller, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division, said in a statement. “Although the 25th Combat Action Brigade family has suffered a huge loss, they still continue their mission with the utmost courage and resolve.”